Skip to main content
Affordable Employee Training Exclusively for NJBIA Members LEARN MORE

The IRS is delaying for one year a redesigned W-4 form to address concerns from payroll administrators and tax preparers.

“The 2019 version of the Form W-4 to the current 2018 version,” the agency said in a statement. A new draft version of the W-4 for 2019 will be available in the coming weeks.

According to the American Payroll Association, there were concerns about “employees’ ability to understand the form and related instructions along with the IRS’s withholding calculator, especially considering the significant change from an allowance system to dollar amounts reflecting withholding by household and highest paying job.”

Specifically, APA was concerned about requests for information on nonwage income, income from more than one job and/or a working spouse, itemized deductions, and tax credits.

“Employees may not know or want to share this information with their employers,” APA stated.

Today, the APA applauded the decision.

“APA continues to offer support to the IRS in implementing the agency’s Strategic Plan that reflects a commitment to strengthening and expanding partnerships with stakeholders,” the organization stated. “APA is grateful for the full consideration that the IRS is giving to developing a Form W-4 that makes sense for employers, employees, and the IRS and Treasury Department.”

For its part, the IRS is urging taxpayers to review their tax withholding situation as soon as possible to avoid having too little or too much withheld from their paychecks. Click here to perform a quick “paycheck checkup” using the IRS withholding calculator.